For many scientists, the people who live more than 100 years They are a population of interest to study the keys to greater longevity. But The problem is that there are practically no models of human aging and resistance to diseases that allow testing possible interventions in centenarians.
Therefore, scientists from the Boston Universityin the United States, they got reprogrammed stem cells from the blood of centenarians. They hope to share those cells with other researchers to better understand the factors that contribute to a long and healthy life.
They have already created the largest bank of induced pluripotent stem cells of people who reached 100 years of life and their descendants. They published the results of a study in the journal Aging Cell.
Based on the results and future work, researchers seek to develop and test possible therapies to promote a healthier and longer life.
In dialogue with Infobaethe doctor Luciano Vellónresearcher at the Laboratory of Tumor Stem Cells and Metabolic Reprogramming of the Institute of Biology and Experimental Medicine of Conicetin Argentina, commented: “Induced pluripotent stem cells can be used to generate disease models in vitro, that is, outside the human body, expand them and maintain them in a sustainable way.”
Before, he noted, it was doubtful whether it was possible to obtain this type of cells from older people, “but current technologies have allowed it,” he highlighted. “The cell biobank created in Boston can be a tool to study age-related diseases and for the development of therapies in the future,” said scientist Vellón, who did not participate in the study published in Aging Cell.
Induced pluripotent stem cells are cells that have been rescheduled to recover the ability to differentiate into any cell type in the body. That makes them pluripotent. In other words, they have the ability to become any type of cell, whether it is the nervous system, muscle, cardiac, among others.
The Boston scientists used cells iPSCs obtained from peripheral blood samples of centenarians and their descendants. These cells were reprogrammed to generate stem cell lines that can be grown indefinitely in a laboratory.
Those iPSCs They capture the genetic profile of the person from whom they originate, which is crucial for the analysis of biological mechanisms associated with longevity and disease resistance.
The researchers obtained and characterized more than 100 blood samples of centenarians and their descendants. They used these samples to study how gene expression is regulated in the molecular aging clocks and to compare the differences between the biological age and chronological age.
Also researchers successfully reprogrammed those cells into iPSC lines of high quality, which were then characterized to ensure their pluripotency, genomic stability and its ability to differentiate into various cell types.
The results showed that centenarians and their descendants showed significantly younger biological ages compared to their chronological ages. In some cases, differences of up to of decades between the biological age and the chronological age of the participants.
The results suggest that people who reach 100 years of age have biological mechanisms that allow them avoid age-related diseases y maintain greater health in old age.
The researchers were also able to show that the induced pluripotent stem cells extracted from these individuals have a unique ability to study the biological resilience to aging.
“This research provides a unique resource that can be used to better understand the mechanisms behind the resilience of centenarians and help others maximize their healthy life years,” said the study’s first author. Todd DowreyPhD candidate in the department of molecular and translational medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.
Another of the co-authors appreciated the decision of the centenarians and their families who agreed to participate in the study. “Our participants are always incredibly generous and without them we would not be able to conduct these unique studies. In turn, we hope to solidify their legacy, as the cell lines we create from them will last forever and will be used by researchers around the world,” he commented. Thomas Perlsprofessor of medicine and founding director of the New England Centenarian Study.
